Archives for 2013

SCOTUS Decision on Breast Cancer Gene Patent – Genes Cannot Be Patented
June 13, 2013 Supreme Court of the United States announced its decision in Association of Molecular Biology v. Myriad Genetics, in which plaintiffs challenged the validity of gene patents held by Myriad on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are closely correlated with increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers. At issue in the case was whether the genes are “products of nature,” and therefore not patentable, or “products of human ingenuity,” which are eligible for patent protection. The Patent and Trademark Office has issued thousands of gene patents in the past and these patents have been routinely upheld by the Court of Claims, which is the federal appeals court that specializes in intellectual property law. The Court of Claims had held that the BRCA gene patents were valid in this case, but that decision was reversed today by SCOTUS. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-398_8njq.pdf

Carolyn Katzin

Certified Nutrition Specialist with more than twenty-five years of experience. Carolyn's graduate degree is in Nutritional Sciences from UCLA's School of Public Health. She continues her nutritional science education with certificate courses in nutrigenomics from University of California Davis and NuGO and annual attendance at the Future of Genomic Medicine presented by Scripp's Translational Science Institute and J.Craig Venter Institute.
Integrative Oncology Specialist at UCLA Simms/Mann Center for Integrative Oncology.